Making education a focus during the 2012 election debates is our ongoing
goal in The Global Search for Education series. Today I [C.M. Rubin] am honored
to share the perspectives of Diane Ravitch as we continue the discussion of the
issues that we believe will be a priority for the next President of the United
States.
Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and
a distinguished historian of American education. She is a senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. She served as Assistant Secretary of
Education for Research and Improvement in the administration of President
George H.W. Bush and was appointed to two terms on the National Assessment
Governing Board by the Clinton administration. Ravitch is the author or editor
of over 20 books on education, including the national bestseller, The Death
and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are
Undermining Education (Basic Books)…
What should the role of federal government be in K- 12 education? How much
more funding should be given to education reform and in what major areas should
it be spent?
The federal government has certain roles that have been consistent since
the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965:
First, to equalize spending for the neediest districts, especially those
that enroll children who are poor.
Second, to protect the civil rights of children.
Third, to provide accurate and timely information about the condition and
progress of education, including support for the no-stakes National Assessment
of Educational Progress.
Fourth, to fund the education of children with disabilities.
Fifth, to aid low-income students who enroll in college.
The basic mission of the U.S. Department of Education is to support
equality of educational opportunity.
It is not the role of the Department of Education to foist its own unproven
preferences -- like evaluating teachers by student test scores or charter
schools or merit pay -- on states and districts…
What would be your position on improving the teaching profession, including
recruitment, teacher training, compensation, and assignment to low-income
schools?
I would like to see higher standards for entry into schools of education. I
would wish that every teacher has a four-year degree in a content area, so they
are knowledgeable in the subjects they will teach, and a fifth year of study of
education, including cognitive science, adolescent psychology, assessment,
cultural diversity, the sociology of the family and the community, and the
history, politics, and economics of education. No one should be allowed to
teach who does not have a year of study that includes practice teaching and
research. I would also disallow education degrees earned online. Teachers should
be paid more for taking on additional responsibilities; they should not have
their pay or evaluation tied to test scores of students.
Teaching should be a prestigious career. Those who enter teaching should be
well-prepared and expect to make a career in education…
What would be your position on school choice, including charter schools and
their expansion, private schools, vouchers, and investment in inadequately
staffed and facilitated low-income schools?
I oppose school choice outside the public school system. I oppose private
management of public schools. I oppose for-profit schools. I fear that in time
we will see the re-emergence of a dual system of schools in our cities, with
charters for the able and public schools serving the rejects from charter
schools. I see district after district where charters drain funding and top
students away from the public schools. It makes no sense. I oppose vouchers. I
believe that it is a public duty to provide a good public school with adequate
resources and a rich curriculum in every neighborhood. Every school should have
the staff and resources it needs to provide a full curriculum, after-school
activities and appropriate services for students.
What would be your strategy to address the domestic and international
achievement gaps, including your position on early childhood education, standardized
testing, on-line modular education, and teacher/principal accountability?
I think we should stress early childhood education. The US lags far behind
the rest of the world in establishing high-quality early childhood education. I
think we should minimize the use of standardized testing, use it only for
diagnostic purposes, not for accountability, not for rewards or punishments or
school closings. Standardized tests reflect gaps, they don't close them. The
online schools have very poor results and do nothing to improve achievement.
The best way to improve achievement is to improve the standard of living of our
poorest children while improving the curriculum at all schools and the
professional supports for teachers. One important reform would be to make sure
that every child has a regular medical check-up, that every school has access
to a health clinic and/or a school nurse. In the schools that serve the
neediest children, class sizes should be reduced to no more than 20…
What would be your position on curriculum reform, including the role of the
arts, the treatment of ethics, and the adoption of blended online learning?
I believe that every school should have a full and balanced curriculum,
with a rich arts program, history, civics, geography, mathematics, the
sciences, foreign languages, and literature. Every school should have a library
with a full range of resources, including computers and the Internet.
I would ban for-profit schooling.
What would be your position on how to make college affordable for more
qualified low income students?
The federal government should increase subsidies for college for low-income
and middle-income students. Education is a basic human right and it should not
be denied because of inability to pay. Young people should not be buried in
debt when they finish college. We can't expect to increase college enrollment
rates if young people cannot afford to go. I also think the government should
be extremely vigilant in policing for-profit colleges, where the attrition
rates are extremely high and young people drop out with heavy debt and no
education.
Originally posted at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/education-gap_b_1965539.html
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